Strip material cutting device and method



Dec. 16 1969 F. F. FORTHMANN, JR 3 4 3 779 STRIP MATERIAL CUTTING DEVICE AND METHOD Filed March 15. 1968 AND GHV FIGJII' INVENTOR. FEEDER/CH A FDRTHMANMR I BY A T TGIRNEYS United States Patent US. Cl. 8342 11 Claims ABSTRACT 0F THE DISCLOSURE A device for cutting away labels from a continuous strip of material having label indicia imprinted thereon includes a reciprocating knife mechanism havingtwo effective blade elements which are disposed at angles to each other. The mechanism includes means for feeding two labels into association with the reciprocating knives at a location beneath the knives so that when the knives are moved downwardly, they cut two substantially trapezoidally shaped labels away from the continuous strip simultaneously. The labels which are cut away are formed so that alternate ones of the labels are arranged in an inverted manner in respect to all of the others. A packing mechanism is associated with the cutting mechanism and arranged to deflect each of the tWo labels as they are cut downwardly into packing boxes which are located below the knives.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION This invention relates, in general, to strip material processing machines and, in particular, to a new and useful device for forming labels of substantially trapezoidal shape from a continuous strip of material.

The present invention is an improvement over the prior art devices, particularly in respect to the provision of a cutting mechanism which is operable in timed relationship to a feeding mechanism for a continuous strip of material and effective to cut away individual labels of trapezoidal shape from the continuous strip. Prior to the present invention, it was known to employ reciprocating knives for cutting label elements away from a continuous strip. The known mechanism included a single reciprocating knife blade which was effective to cut across the path of feeding movement of the labels. If the edges of the labels were to be cut at an angle in respect to the direction of feed, in some instances such knives were adjustable in respect to the direction of feed in order to permit this. At the present time, many labels are made up with the lettering or other wording or design thereon so that alternate label elements of a continuous strip are inverted in respect to the next adjacent label elements. The labels are of trapezoidal shape and their end edges extend obliquely in opposite directions. Therefore, if a single knife blade element were to be employed for first cutting obliquely in one direction in respect to the strip material feed and for thereafter cutting obliquely in another direction in order to furnish the trapezoidal shape outline, there would have to be some pivotal arrangement for a knife blade and the cutting operation would be slow. Attempts to provide two alternately operable knife blades for cutting away the label elements from the strip were not practical in view of the fact that it was difiicult to feed the labels after they were cut away and further the mechanism for reciprocating the knife blades in timed relationship to the feeding mechanism was complicated and expensive.

In accordance with the present invention, it was discovered that labels of trapezoidal shape could be easily cut away from a continuqus strip at a rapid rate, and thereafter the cut away labels could be moved to a storage location without difficulty. In order to achieve such an arrangement, the feeding mechanism was oriented to feed a continuous strip of material having the alternately inverted indicia thereon arranged in trapezoidal strips across two stationary knife blade elements which are disposed at an angle to each other. The stationary blades are arranged below two similarly arranged movable blades in a position to cut the strip material fed over the stationary blades by two overhead reciprocating elements. Immediately after the labels are cut, they are moved downwardly by movable packing feet and packed into cartons arranged directly below the cutting knife mechanism. In this manner, it is not necessary to guide the labels through the cutting mechanism and beyond it into association with further packing elements, but the packing is effected simultaneously with the cutting.

A further advantage resides in the mechanism of the invention in that the size of the labels can be easily controlled in accordance with the location of feeding across the two stationary blades which are disposed at an angle to each other. The strip material to be cut forms a base of a triangle which is completed by the two cutting knife blades, and when this base is shifted either towards the apex of the triangle or away from the apex, the size of the label cut will vary correspondingly. A simple guide means for orienting the label feed path in combination with means for adjusting the position of the original reel of strip material is all that is necessary for permitting adjustment in accordance with label size.

By feeding two labels at one time to the double cutting blades, it is possible with the mechanism of the invention to cut them away from the strip with a single reciprocating stroke of the cutting mechanism. This means that feeding is very accurate and also very quick.

In accordance with a further feature of the invention, the blades are mounted at an angle to each other and are adjustable in respect to individual mounting brackets in order to vary their precise angle in respect to the feed direction of the strip material and also in respect to the stationary blades positioned therebelow. The movable blades are preferably offset in respect to the stationary blades and they are spring biased so that they may migrate in the manner of a scissor cut when the blade elements are reciprocated.

Accordingly, it is an object of the invention to provide a device for feeding and cutting a continuous strip of material into individual labels of trapezoidal configuration.

A further object of the invention is to provide a device for feeding a continuous length of strip material and into association with cutting means for effecting a simultaneous cutting away of two trapezoidal relatively inverted labels and for thereafter feeding the labels downwardly into a storage location.

A further object of the invention is to provide a label knife cutting mechanism which includes a pair of fixed blades which are oriented at an angle to each other and obliquely in respect to a feed direction and a pair of similarly oriented reciprocating blades which are movable downwardly to cut material positioned over the fixed blades.

A further object of the invention is to provide a cutting blade mechanism which includes two blades arranged at an angle with respect to each other and means mounting the blades and biasing them in a given direction with adjustment means engageable with each blade for moving it against said biasing means in order to vary the angle thereof.

A further object of the invention is to provide a method of cutting away labels of trapezoidal configuration from a continuous strip of material which includes moving a continuous strip of material into association with two blades arranged at oblique angles in respect to the feed direction and extending in opposite diverging directions from each other and positioning the continuous strip of material so that a label length extends beyond the two blades and a label length extends between the two blades and reciprocating the two blades to simultaneously cut away two labels from this strip material.

A further object of the invention is to :provide a label feeding and cutting mechanism and a knife blade construction which are simple in design, rugged in construction and economical to manufacture.

The various features of novelty which characterize the invention are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this specification. For a better understanding of the invention, its operating advantages and specific objects attained by its use, reference should be had to the accompanying drawings and descriptive matter in which there is illustrated and described a preferred embodiment of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a top plan view of a label feeding and cutting mechanism constructed in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of the apparatus indicated in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a top plan view of the movable cutting knife asembly; and

FIG. 4 is a rear elevational view of one of the cutting knife mechanisms.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring to the drawings in particular, the invention embodied therein comprises a device generally designated for feeding at least one length of a strip material 12 from a reel supply 14 into association with a cutting mechanism generally designated 16. The strip material 12 is a material such as a fabric, synthetic material, or even paper, and it is designed to be cut into separate label elements 18 and 20. Adjacent label elements 18 and 20 are inverted in respect to each other, and each contains a printing or other indicia thereon which is arranged for visual reading when the trapezoidal-shaped element is disposed in a given orientation, in this instance when the longer base is arranged at the bottom. Separating lines 22 and 24 may be visually indicated on the continuous strip material 12, but this is not absolutely necessary.

In accordance with the invention, the reel 14 is rotatably supported on a shaft 26 between fixed supports 28 and 30 in a manner permitting it to be shifted laterally to vary the freedpath of the strip material. Feedpath guide plates 32 and 34 are adjustably mounted so that they may be shifted in order to properly align the labels with the cutting mechanism 16. The label strip 12 is fed away from the reel 14 by a feeding mechanism generally designated 36 which includes an arm 38 which is moved by mechanism (not shown) through the parallelogram path 40 which is schematically indicated by arrows in FIG. 2. The arm 38 carries a feed finger 42 which engages the strip 12 and advances it by a predetermined amount into association with the cutting mechanism 16. The feedpath location may be changed by shifting the blades 32 and 34 laterally while they are oriented parallel to each other by sliding them along pins 44 which are confined in oblique slots 46 of the respective plates. The reel 14 is shifted correspondingly by varying the size of spacers 47 between the reel and the mounting brackets 28 and 30.

In accordance with a further feature of the invention the cutting mechanism 16 includes a lower fixed blade assembly generally designated 50 and an upper and movable blade assembly generally designated 52. The fixed blade asembly 50 is mounted on a fixed portion of a frame (not shown) and it includes a blade 54 which is arranged at an angle to a blade 56 and which is braced in respect to the blade 56 by a cross member 58. The cross member 58 forms a base of a triangle and the blades 54 and 56 form two sides. Label strip material 12 is fed over the fixed blades 54 and 56 and the location of the label feed in respect to the apex defined between the blades 54 and 56 determine the size of the label elements which will be cut away from the strip material.

The movable blade assembly 52 includes a yoke member 60 which is vertically reciprocal on a fixed set of guides 62 and 64 and it is reciprocated through a connection 66 to an operating mechanism (not shown) which operates in timed relationship to the feed mechanism 36. The upper blade assembly 52 also includes a movable blade element 68 which is arranged at an angle to another movable blade element 70. The blades 68 and 70 are arranged obliquely in respect to the feed direction of the strip 12 and they diverge outwardly so that when they move downwardly into association with the fixed blades 54 and 56, they cut across the labels obliquely rearwardly and obliquely forwardly, respectively.

Blade 68 is supported on pin members 72 and 74 which are mounted in a fixed block 76 carried on the yoke 60. The interiors of the pins 72 and 74 at a location between the blades 68 and 70 are provided with widened head portions and a coil spring 78 which is disposed between the widened head portion and the associated blade 68 biases the blade 68 away from the head portions. The angle which the blade 68 makes in respect to the longitudinal axis of the strip material 12 may be varied by adjustably setting a set screw 80 into a block 82 carried on top of the block 76 to cause the pin to bear more or less against the associated blade 68. In a similar manner the blade 70 is supported on bolt members or pins 84 and 86 and a coil spring 88 biases the blade away from the associated pin head. A set screw 90bears against the blade 70 and it may be rotated to adjust the position of the blade angle relative to the feed direction angle. The threaded set screw is carried on a block member 92 which is supported on a lower block member 94.

The blades 68 and 70 each includes a lower oblique edge 96 which makes an angle in respect to the knife edge 98 of the fixed blades 54 or 56.

In accordance with the method of the invention, the strip material 12 is fed so that its outermost edge which has already been cut obliquely along the line 22 is oriented beyond the blade 70 and the innermost edge 24 is oriented beneath this blade 70. At the same time, a label element 18 is oriented between the blades 68 and 70. The length of feed is controlled to precisely position the labels over the fixed blades 54 and 56 in the manner indicated and the movable blade assembly 52 is reciprocated downwardly to cut away the two label elements 18 and 20 from the continuous strip 12.

In accordance with a further feature of the invention, packing elements comprising vertically reciprocally movable packing feet 100 and 102 are moved downwardly directly after the downward movement of the knife blade assembly 52, or at the same time thereas, and they contact the respective label elements 18 and 20 and push them downwardly beneath the fixed blades 54 and 56 and into packing cartons 104 and 106, respectively.

With the mechanism of the invention, it is a simple matter to feed two labels at a time to the cutting position indicated in FIG. 1 and to cause a downward reciprocation of the knives, to effect the cutting away of two label elements from the strip material. If adjustments have to be made to accommodate labels of different sizes, this is accomplished by adjusting the feedpath of the labels to the knife blade elements. Thus, to cut a smaller size label, it is merely necessary to move the path in a direction toward the apex formed between the movable blades 68 and 70. Movement of the labels in an opposite direction will locate them so that the knives, when they move downwardly, will cut a larger size label.

While a specific embodiment of the invention has been shown and described in detail to illustrate the application of the inventive principles, it will be understood that the invention may be embodied otherwise without departing from such principles.

What is claimed is:

1. A method of cutting away strip elements from a continuous strip of material using two movable blades which are oriented at an angle to each other and oppositely and obliquely in respect to the longitudinal axis of the strip material, comprising feeding the strip material below the two knives so that the outer end of the strip material lies beyond the knives by an amount comparable to a length of a label element to be cut away and a length thereof equivalent to the length of the label to be cut away is disposed between the knife elements, and reciprocating the knife elements to sever two labels simultaneously from the strip.

2. A label feed mechanism comprising first and second fixed blades arranged at an angle to each other, means for feeding a length of strip material over said fixed blades to project a label length beyond said fixed blades and one between said fixed blades, first and second movable blades arranged over respective ones of said first and second fixed blades, said movable blades being movable downwardly to cut away two labels simultaneously from said strip material.

3. A label feed mechanism according to claim 2, wherein said means for feeding a length of strip material is adjustable for varying the location of feed of said strip material over said first and second fixed blades.

4. A label feed mechanism according to claim 2, including means for separately adjusting the angle of each of said movable blades.

5. A label feed mechanism according to claim 4, wherein said means for adjusting the angle of each of said blades includes a fixed block member, pin means on said block member supporting said movable blade, biasing means carried by said pin means biasing said blade in a given direction, and a threaded set screw engaged with said movable plate and being movable against said movable plate to shift said blade against said biasing means.

6. A label feed mechanism according to claim 2, including packing members movable downwardly between said blades and the exterior of one of said blades to engage respective labels immediately as they are cut and to move them downwardly away from said blades.

7. A label feed mechanism comprising means defining a label strip material feed path, first and second fixed blade members disposed at an angle to each other and extend ing obliquely in opposite respective directions in respect to the feedpath of said strip material and over which the strip material is fed, a movable knife blade associated with and in substantial alignment with each of said first and second fixed blades, means mounting said movable blades for vertical reciprocal movement for causing the severance of two labels simultaneously from the strip material, and means for feeding the strip material over said first and second fixed blades to project a length of the strip material beyond said first and second fixed blades and a length of strip between said first and second fixed blades.

8. A label feed mechanism according to claim 7, wherein said means defining said feedpath includes first and second spaced parallel plate members, and means mounting said plate members to permit their lateral shifting movement.

9. A label feed mechanism according to claim 7, including means mounting said movable blades permitting the angle of said blades to be adjusted.

it}. A knife mechanism for cutting strip material into individual lengths, comprising first and second fixed blades arranged at an angle to each other, first and second movable blades disposed in alignment with respective ones of said first and second fixed blades and being movable toward and away from said fixed blades for cooperating with said fixed blades to cut a piece of material therebetween, and means mounting said movable blades for reciprocal movement in respect to said fixed blades.

11. A knife mechanism according to claim 10, wherein said means mounting said movable blades permits individual angular adjustment of said movable blades.

References Cited UNlTED STATES PATENTS 524,726 8/1894 McHugh 83-620 1,683,934 9/1928 Timmons 83695 FOREIGN PATENTS 537,488 5/1955 Belgium. 929,541 7/1947 France.

WILLIAM S. LAWSON, Primary Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 

